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Charisma


The term charisma (/kəˈrɪzmə/; pl. charismata, adj. charismatic) has two senses: (1) compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others, (2) a divinely conferred power or talent. As regards sense 1, scholars in political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership that is extraordinary; in this field, the term "charisma" is used to describe a particular type of leader who uses "values-based, symbolic, and emotion-laden leader signaling.". For some theological usages the term is rendered charism, with a meaning the same as sense 2. Since the 1950s, the term has become widely used, with varying meanings, in religion, the social sciences, the media, and throughout Western societies.

The English term charisma is from the Greek χάρισμα (khárisma), which means "favor freely given" or "gift of grace". The term and its plural χαρίσματα (charismata) derive from χάρις (charis), which means "grace". Some derivatives from that root (including "grace") have similar meanings to the modern sense of personality charisma, such as "filled with attractiveness or charm", "kindness", "to bestow a favor or service", or "to be favored or blessed". Moreover, the ancient Greek dialect widely used in Roman times employed these terms without the connotations found in modern religious usage.Ancient Greeks applied personality charisma to their gods; for example, attributing charm, beauty, nature, human creativity or fertility to goddesses they called Charites (Χάριτες).

Theologians and social scientists have expanded and modified the original Greek meaning into the two distinct senses above. For ease of reference, we will call the first sense personality charisma and the second divinely conferred charisma.


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